Beer of the Week

Time to kick off the work shoes and lace up those drinking boots as it is another Friday – and that means another chance to shine a light on an unsung Scottish beer that deserves to be in your cupboard or fridge (or cupboard, fridge and then glass). The series has reached the twelfth iteration so with the first dozen complete it is time to head to the far North-East of Scotland and the small town of Lossiemouth. There you’ll find the Windswept Brewery and a hugely under-rated Scotch Ale.

I didn’t set out to catalogue all of the Scotch Ales in this country, but that seems to be what is happening – maybe it’s a testament to how they fly under the radar or how little I actually drink them (both of which are a crying shame) but in revisiting the offerings of breweries like Windswept these are the beers that stand out. And in the case of this beer in particular, that really is the case. The twelfth in my series of Beers of the Week is the truly exceptional Windswept Wolf.

Lossiemouth is a town that revolves around its relationship with the RAF, so it’s no surprise that two former pilots are behind this particular beer. Al Read and Nigel Tiddy opened a 10BBL brewery in 2012 and have gone from strength to strength since, with their range increasing ever since. Wolf is a fantastic beer and one that firmly sits in the ‘armchair sipper’ box – with a welcoming aroma of deep, dark stone fruit, leather and liqourice. The flavour is lovely, bittersweet and with sherry, oak, booze and prunes in there as well. With a long warming, spicy aftertaste it is not just one of the most under-rated beers in Scotland, but the entire UK.